Friday, February 6, 2009

Plainfield is swirling with rumors that Assemblyman Jerry Green is about to throw Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs under the bus.

Green, acknowledged in a Courier News article of July 2007 as the 'King of the Queen City', handpicked Robinson-Briggs as his mayoral candidate in 2005, exercising his power as head of the local Democratic party.

To that point, Robinson-Briggs was a relative political newcomer serving on the Board of Education, whose residency qualification for that seat was the subject of a lengthy and heated challenge.

Not long after Robinson-Briggs began her term in 2006, Green was quoted as envisioning his protegé taking over his Assembly seat at some future date.

Robinson-Briggs made a 'soft launch' of her re-election campaign at last summer's National Night Out program, where staffers were spotted handing out 'Re-elect Sharon' buttons to attendees. The buttons were also handed out at a community forum at Washington Community School later in August.

At the rally at Plainfield Democratic headquarters on the night of President Obama's electoral victory, Green summoned Mayor Robinson-Briggs forward to address the crowd by launching a chant of 'Four more years! Four more years!' Four more years!'.

As recently as this week, as the Plaintalker blog noted (see here), Plainfield's public access cable TV station (Ch 74) was running footage of a Green/Robinson-Briggs lovefest at the Assemblyman's Obama Inauguration dinner-dance.

Now, rumor has it, Boss Green is willing to ditch Robinson-Briggs in favor of an as-yet-unnamed candidate.

Word is that an internal poll conducted in recent days showed Robinson-Briggs as having high negatives for her management of the City over the past three years.

So, despite being the team player that she is (and which Boss Green touts as the ONLY way to go), the Assemblyman is poised to throw Plainfield's hugger-and-kisser-in-chief under the bus.

Will he?

And will Robinson-Briggs go gentle into that dark political night?

CAST YOUR VOTE ON THE QUESTION AT THE TOP OF THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN ON THIS PAGE!

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comments:

Although I totally don't believe it would be right of him to do so, as he is just as if not MORE incompetent than any of his picks, I bet he will if the screaming becomes louder and more organized from Plainfield as a whole. Mayor Sharon will realize the price you pay when you "play the game" is that the ones who brought you in are MORE than willing to throw you overboard...or even, under the bus when things get tense. Good riddance to bad rubbish as they say...it's too bad the garbage truck won't be able to pick it up in one stop.

I can't imagine why Green would go back on his word to the mayor. Is he going to find her some cushy soft landing like a county job to soften the blow to her ego? Who would he get to run in her place? Another novice with no experience to shove down our throats and serve as figurehead so that he can continue to play "puppet master" for another four years? We have seen what a "Jerry" backed candidate is capable of. Not me. not again.

I supported Green with the mayor in 2005 when he made a personal appeal for her. He said things were going to be different and now he had everything in place to make Plainfield a shining star. So far my taxes have increased, my MUA bill has increased 90 dollars from the quarter and the potholes are ruining my 11 year old car. I don't trust Green's word as far as I can throw him. We know that he wants the mayor so if she is not the candidate we know that its because of him. If he replaces her, who would he replace her with? No one who runs with Green can be independent.The people have lost confidence in him. The people are not happy.

It's not about what Jerry Green wants. He has made it perfectly clear that Mayor Sharon is is choice for another 4 years. It matters what his "masters" at the county level want to run the plantation this time around. THEY choose the candidate for Plainfield, not him. Whoever is chosen to run on the line is the slaveholders choice.

I don't think Green would do something like that to someone so loyal. Many people like the mayor. So she hasn't done a great job. Who would he replace her with who could do better? The rumor about PMUA commissioner Brokaw has died. She has never run anything anyway besides presiding over rate increases at PMUA so I can't imagine that Green would find her to be a suitable candidate to run a city of this size. We don't need another deer in headlights.

Let's not forget this people. The Assemblyman despite his embarrassing tendencies and oversized ego is not stupid. In fact he is politicallly smart. Second, he is a politican. Smart + Politician can mean trouble for the Mayor. If she becomes too great a political burden of rhim to bear she is gone.

Interesting poll, Dan. Here's a question. The mayor has approximately $115,000 in her re-election coffers according to the latest report that was filed 2 weeks ago. Who gets that $100 grand if she doesn't run? Green can't claim any of that money can he? Is it possible that he knew she was going to get tossed and wanted to make sure she would have enough to run without county support? And how will Green manage that anyway, supporting someone off the "line" when he is on the line?

Plainfield resident since 1983. Retired as the city's Public Information Officer in 2006; prior to that Community Programs Coordinator for the Plainfield Public Library. Founding member and past president of: Faith, Bricks & Mortar; Residents Supporting Victorian Plainfield; and PCO (the outreach nonprofit of Grace Episcopal Church). Supporter of the Library, Symphony and Historic Society as well as other community groups, and active in Democratic politics.